SUBMISSIONS close this Friday, 31st March for the Marine Estate Management Authority’s statewide Threat and Risk Assessment (TARA) Report for the NSW marine estate.
Authority Chair Dr Wendy Craik said the draft report summarises the first statewide evidence-based assessment of the threats to the social and economic benefits of the marine estate and the environmental assets that support them.
“The NSW community had helped identify the social and economic benefits our estuaries and coastline provide, and the importance of the environmental assets that underpin them, during a statewide survey in 2014,” Craik said.
“These benefits include recreational pursuits such as swimming or surfing at the beach, boating, fishing, and commercial and tourism opportunities such as shipping, commercial and charter fishing, SCUBA diving and others,” she said.
“Community members and stakeholders now have an opportunity to provide feedback on the draft report, which highlights potential threats to these benefits and the marine estate’s environmental assets.
Dr Craik said short videos and an interactive tool are being provided to facilitate community feedback and discussion by presenting the report results in a user-friendly way.
“We are committed to managing our marine estate for the benefit of the community, and this report and the process is designed to support and encourage participation,” she said.
The final report will inform the ongoing management of the NSW marine estate through the drafting of a new 10-year Marine Estate Management Strategy.
It will also be considered in the creation of new management plans, starting with the Solitary Islands and Batemans Marine Parks.
The draft TARA report includes revised findings for the Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion, now called the “Central Region”, which includes greater Sydney.
The draft report, background reports and other supporting material are available at www.marine.nsw.gov.au.
To go directly to the recreational fishing threats and risk assessment activities click here.
